Rolling with the Waves
by grandmelon
Summary: Tired and broken, Sousuke awaits his imminent fate while rotting away with the rest of his village, chained and locked up on the boat that had taken them from their home. When the door to their holding cell is unexpectedly thrown open, his life drastically changes once more. (SouRin Week Day 7, Warnings Inside, Happy Ending!)


**Title:** Rolling with the Waves  
 **Author:** melonmachinery  
 **Day/Prompt:** Day 7/Paper – Pirates  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Warnings:** Talk of a mercy killing, allusions to rape of a minor original character, allusions to killing, slavery (There's talk about some heavy stuff but it's not too sad IMO, but I've put a warning and higher rating just in case.) Happy Ending! **  
**  
**Summary:**

Tired and broken, Sousuke awaits his imminent fate while rotting away with the rest of his village, chained and locked up on the boat that had taken them from their home. When the door to their holding cell is unexpectedly thrown open, his life drastically changes once more.

* * *

SouRin Week Day 7

Rolling with the Waves

Sweat was dripping out of every pore of his body, but there was nothing to do about it. It was hot and stuffy that day, the rocking of the boat nauseating in a way it hadn't been since he got on. The heat of his back was excruciating, but he welcomed it anyways, it was a nice distraction from the aches of his shoulders. His eyes scanned the dark hall, only a few small holes letting in light and water from the outside.

His nose had stopped smelling the filth around him long ago, but having his brief moment out on the deck had renewed his senses, and the past few days had been hell. Hell, that's where he was going. He'd gladly welcome his punishment, but maybe being alive for these moments was his true sentence.

The sweat running into his eyes burned, and his ears ached at the moans and groans of some of the others in the room. He wondered where they were heading, what port they'd land at. Maybe they'd be on one of the local islands, maybe they'd be far away in a distant land. All he knew was that his life on land would never be the same, and neither would his life on the sea.

When he closed his eyes while he was awake he'd have dreams of fishing on the sea. Dreams of a sleepy town on a small island, full of people whose sense of community was only trumped by their calling for catching creatures of the ocean. Sometimes, when he'd allow it, he'd remember wide eyes and a bright smile that could outshine the sun. Soft hair tickling his nose, warm hugs.

Whispers in his ears of leaving the island for something better, to become lords of the sea, pirates.

He didn't allow himself to indulge in such happy memories for too long, he no longer deserved them. He deserved the chains around his wrists and the heated blows against his back. The scar against his shoulder. They were all punishments from some god, he was sure of it. He must have deserved them, or maybe they were his penance for what he had not yet done.

In the darkness of the room, hearing the hurling of someone beside him, smelling the putrid chunks on the musty wood floor, he wondered when it would end. If it would end.

He let sleep take him, knowing the nightmares that awaited. Rolling, tumbling, somewhere in the deep, he'd see her face. The ocean waves baring her down, and the suffocating grip on his throat, the heaviness of his legs that could not move.

* * *

When he awoke it was not because of the terrors in his sleep, but the shouts of many men. Everyone around him whispering, wondering what was happening outside that room. Something felt odd, and the sounds ceased soon after. He didn't bother ask anyone what happened, all of them being shrouded in the darkness.

A girl to the left of him was whispering to her mother about how long this had been going on, and perhaps it was mutiny. The wood of the ship was thick, and muffled the voices well. Everyone went silent in unison when the noises stopped, waiting with baited breath for what might come. Maybe they had already made port, and the shouts were the sea traders taking the rest of their hauls off the ship.

When the door slammed open there was only a single baby face at the entryway, highlighted with the light coming from the oil lamp in their one hand. Their voice was light as they instructed everyone to get up and go out up to the deck. Everyone got up in order, standing up in their groups, their chains shackling them to each other. The groups closest to the door left first, and the room filed out. When the rest of Sousuke's group stood up he rose to his feet, shaky and unsteady, and with a great deal of trouble.

The walk was long, but not even the knowledge that something awful could happen could change how light Sousuke felt when the ocean wind hit him. It was like he was clean again, like all of the scum was washed away from him. Its smell was heavenly, and the light of the sky blinding.

When he could finally see again he noticed that the ship was not moving, but it was not docked. In the distance there was a ship not too far away, in the same situation. An island was behind them, but there was no sign of a town or port.

The canons had not been drawn, so all he could conclude was that a trade was going on.

It was when he saw red hair whipping in the wind that his heart stopped. Sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight approaching them. Another man with brown hair was dropping shackles off the people left and right, the keys to their binds in his hands.

"This is all of them!" A joyful voice called from behind. "No dead ones either, but they probably disposed of anyone who was."

"So they checked up on them regularly," another said, glasses framing his face. "It seems that there were twenty unused chains, possibly those who did not make it."

"What do you think, Haru?" the redheaded called, turning to another who was standing there with a large captain's hat.

The stoic man said nothing, and the redhead continued his rounds, looking at all of them. He stopped once, asking for the one in glasses, Rei, to come look at one of the youngest of the group. Presumably the doctor, the man pulled out a bag and started to assess a wound on the young boy's arm.

When the man reached their line, he was sure of it then. He dreamed of that face for as long as he could remember, and there was no way to mistake it when he was standing right in front of him. It seemed that the other noticed too, because he was struck still at the end of the line before he walked right up to him.

"Sousuke?"

If he had ever heard a siren speak to him, sweet voice pulling him to his death, it was then. He smiled, it was all he could think of doing, watching the worried look cross over his childhood friend's face. How many years had it been since he saw him?

"Rin," he whispered, his throat raw and groggy. "I should have known you would make good on your word."

"It is you!" Rin cried. His hands were on his face then, and he was looking at his body, and then his eyes were drawn to his arm, locked behind his back. "What happened? Why are you here?"

"Raid," Sousuke answered, his eyes glancing away at the others. All of them had their eyes on the man with the keys, desperately holding out their hands in front of them. "Only the strong were taken, they didn't think anyone else would make the trip."

The shock in Rin's eyes was evident, and then he was turning around and running to the other man, speaking some quick words before bringing back the keys and unshackling him. When they dropped with a loud thud, his arms finally fell to his sides in a heavy gratefulness. He started to laugh, and maybe he was crying because Rin was rubbing at his cheeks, but he couldn't remember much more than that.

His head felt hot and hazy, and he was dizzy on his feet. His vision was only a bright blur and then things went black. He heard Rin calling his name.

He wondered if it was finally over.

* * *

"Oh good, you're awake."

He wasn't sure if he really was, seeing long locks framing the most beautiful face he had ever seen looking down at him. There was something cool and wet against his forehead, and his body felt dry, his back on something soft. It was a feeling he hadn't known for what felt like forever.

"Where am I?" Sousuke asked, trying to sit up. A wet cloth fell from his head and onto his chest, Rin picked it up.

"On our ship," Rin answered, standing up and walking over to the other side of the room, dipping the rag in a bowl and walking back. "Lay down, you've had an awful fever."

Sousuke let the sweet words weaken his muscles and he complied. Rin folded the rag and placed it back on his forehead. The tips of his fingers were cool when they touched Sousuke's shoulder, tracing around the large and puffy scar there.

"Sousuke, what happened?" he whispered. He looked into his eyes and his frown deepened.

"They burned anyone who tried to resist, a way to quiet us I guess," he admitted, closing his eyes and sighing. "You talked to the rest of them didn't you? Where are they?"

"They've left. They took their ship and said they'd make their way home, there was enough provisions for it, anyways."

"Good," he sighed. "They'll make it home, they're all good fishers."

"You were one too, right?" Rin inquired, hands wrapping themselves together. "That's what you became after I left?"

"It was," he laughed. "Maybe I should have went with you instead."

"We were young, you still had your parents."

Sousuke opened his eyes at that, staring at the hardwood of the ceiling. The room was bathed in lamp light, hanging from the wall carefully. His eyes wandered back to Rin, and saw the way he was chewing on his own lip and smiled.

"You'll make yourself bleed."

Rin cracked a smile.

"I missed you," he whispered. "I shouldn't have left you there."

"If you knew what would happen, you wouldn't have," Sousuke agreed. "But neither of us knew, don't blame yourself."

"What happened to your back?" Rin whispered, ignoring what he was saying. His hand went to the wrappings around his chest. "They wouldn't have whipped you so hard if it wasn't something serious. And your arms, why were they behind you? How long were you like that?"

Sousuke sat up at that, ignoring the pain of the sudden movement. Rin yelped, trying to push him back down, but he was too busy staring at his own hands. Was this the reason why Rin had returned to him? To loath him as all those around him now did? To curse him for what he had done, like he curses himself?

"Sousuke?" Rin asked, hand soft and gentle against his back, almost cradling him like a small child.

"She was a girl in the village," he started, voice devoid of emotion. His throat didn't swell up, his stomach didn't go queasy. He felt hollow. "I didn't know her personally."

Rin remained silent, and the hand on the bare skin of his shoulder was firm and flat against him then. He couldn't even feel the heat of his hands any longer. Even the boat riding against the crashing waves outside felt like nothing.

"They'd come for her often, and bring her back when they were done. She begged, and she begged. She tried to starve herself, or throw herself into the sea. She even tried to kill one of them to get them to do it, but they wouldn't. So she asked me," he whispered.

Rin looked at him then. "Just you?"

"No," he admitted, shaking his head. "But I was the one who did it."

The creak of the boat and the sound of the waves outside were the only thing they could hear then. Rin waited, patiently, and Sousuke wondered why he still wanted to hear. It was when Rin's hands grabbed Sousuke's that he looked up at him, tired, and numb.

"She was only a bit younger than us, probably your sister's age."

Sousuke couldn't tighten the grip of his hands, not even around Rin's. He could still see her eyes illuminated by the lamps in that large room, lit for feeding time. The men meant to guard them were at the front that time, ignoring them. She was quite, and she didn't struggle, even though her body squirmed relentlessly, instincts trying to override her resolve. He could still feel the stares of those around him.

"For what purpose did I end her life?" he laughed bitterly. "Here you all are now, and she could be sailing home."

"You don't know if she'd feel any different about it," Rin interrupted him, lifting his chin. "It is not your place to say. You were a means to an end, Sousuke, not the reason itself."

"Is there a difference?"

Neither of them spoke a word, and Rin's eyes were dark, and they were stuck in limbo. The things they wanted to say caught in their throat, both knowing what the other thought, both knowing what they themselves wanted to say, but couldn't. The flickering candle light bathed Rin's face in soft shadows, and unlike when he saw him in the sunlight, he looked so much older then. Worn and wary, the toils of time resting on him. It was an awful look to see on someone who could shiny as brightly as he did.

"I should have come back for you," Rin repeated, voice firm. "It wasn't a matter of us being too young, when I was ready I should have come back."

"Rin, it's pointless to think like that now, I," he started and Rin's arms wrapped around him, his lips resting against the bare skin of his shoulder.

"I'll never leave you alone again," he promised. "Not ever."

He was going to protest, but then Rin was pulling back and he saw that despite the conviction in his voice, his eyes were watering pools. Sousuke moved forward then, slowly, slow enough for him to pull back. He wasn't sure what compelled him to do it at that time, or maybe it was because he didn't know if there would ever be time for it again. When Rin started to lean forward too he trusted his eyes to close.

The touch was dry, and a little harsh. Chapped and broken lips catching on gentler ones, but no complaints were made. Rin's hand came up to his cheek again, and wrapped around to the back of his neck, not pulling him closer, just holding him there. His other hand was on top of Sousuke's, gentle and inviting. He succumb to its seduction and intertwined their fingers.

"Will you stay with me?" Rin asked, after pulling away and Sousuke couldn't find any other answer.

"If you'll let me."

Rin smiled at him and pushed gently at his chest, guiding him to lay down. The bed was much nicer than the hard and wet wood of the slave traders' boat. The hands on his face were as light as feathers, and if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine that the past couple of weeks had never happened.

"I feel as though I have entered a dream, and that when I wake all of this will disappear," he confessed and he heard Rin's soft laugh. It was different from how he remembered it, deeper, but somehow it sounded the same to him.

"Sousuke, if this is a dream than it is mine, and when I wake I'll find you and make it real."

"I'm glad," he sighed, looking up at Rin, "since you do seem to keep your promises."

"Then hear this," Rin whispered, leaning down to him. He brushed Sousuke's hair off of his forehead, and kissed him firmly there. "I will never leave your side again. If you decide to return to a simple life, I will too. It is in seeing you again that I've realized I've spent far too long without you."

His heart was swelling, and his stomach twisting, but not in an unpleasant way. His gaze roamed over Rin's face, and he looked deep into his eyes. It was strange, and new, and familiar all at once. The way he looked at him was enough to steal his breath away, the same as it always had.

"It sounds as if you love me," he accused.

"Is it not the same for you?" Rin asked, a teasing tone to his voice, an eyebrow raised.

"It is," he agreed. "I have loved you since we were boys."

Rin smiled at him, and kissed him, firm and sweet.

"Sleep Sousuke, when you wake up again you'll find this is not a dream," Rin said as he sat up, and then he stopped, looking at the door. "Some of its realities will be harsh. It was not like we saved you through persuasion, but you will be with me, and I will be with you."

"I thought I was being punished," Sousuke admitted, speaking mostly to himself, "but maybe I am wrong. Or maybe I have been forgiven. I have never been happier than when I am with you, and now you are telling me that you wish for me to be by your side. It feels as though I have just used my life time's worth of luck."

"Stop speaking nonsense, Sousuke," Rin scoffed, though he could not hide his grin nor the way he tucked his hair behind his ear, a habit he had even in childhood. "Sleep now, I will return before you wake."

When he saw the door shut he closed his eyes and willed himself to rest.


End file.
